Tiny houses only occupy a small area of land, so it makes sense for them to have at least two stories, right? And when you want to go from one floor to the other, of course, you’ll need a great set of stairs.
Why is tiny house stair storage so important?
Stairs can take up a considerable amount of room in your tiny house, where your space is already limited. So tiny house builders have come up with some ingenious ways to make the most out of their staircases.
The second floor of a tiny house usually contains a bedroom, as well as some storage area. The stairs themselves are usually located at one side of the house, parallel to the wall. You can find them by your kitchen, in a hallway, or in the entrance of your home.
In this article, we’ll take a look at fifteen different examples of staircases from different tiny house builders. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some can store many items inside them and some cannot. Others take up considerably less floor space. There are even some that are portable, so you don’t have to use any space at all!
Hopefully, you can get some ideas of what type of staircase you want in your dream tiny house. Let’s go.
Table of contents:
- Why is tiny house stair storage so important?
- 1. Mint Tiny House Company, Nappa
- 2. Build Tiny, The Millennial
- 3. Timbercraft Tiny Homes, Denali XL
- 4. Mint Tiny House Company, Nappa
- 5. Modern Tiny Living, Mohican
- 6. Build Tiny, Dark Horse
- 7. Summit Tiny Homes, The Westcoast
- 8. Modern Tiny Living, Currituck
- 9. Build Tiny, The Bister
- 10. Mint Tiny House Company, Loft
- 11. Minimaliste Houses, The Charme
- 12. Mint Tiny House Company, Nappa
- 13. Build Tiny, Daisy Vera
- 14. Summit Tiny Homes, The Heritage
- 15. Tiny House of Zen
1. Mint Tiny House Company, Nappa
The Nappa tiny house by Mint Tiny House Company features a gorgeous white staircase parallel to the kitchen area.
The storage is comprised of many separate drawers on each stair level, with some larger cupboards as you go further up. It’s a very clean and minimalist staircase but with great functionality and storage space.
Pros:
- Stair storage is maximised as each level contains more storage than the last
- Many different drawer compartments to help categorize contents
- Little need for storage boxes within small drawers
- Useful to store cooking equipment and ingredients in stair drawers
Cons:
- Reduces walk-around space in the kitchen area
- Only single railing, however, there is a potential to add a second
- Washing machine appliance in the bathroom, instead of under staircase
2. Build Tiny, The Millennial
Did you notice the staircase in The Millennial tiny house at first glance?
The above picture shows the downstairs bathroom of the millennial, as well as storage and the bedroom loft above.
But how can you access the bedroom if there’s no ladder? Here’s the staircase:
Once you release a latch on the right of the staircase, it slides out to reveal itself. It then locks in place to make sure it stays still whilst you’re going up and down.
This allows floor space in the millennial to be freed up for more living room. Furthermore, extra storage space that is saved by the unique design is used in the downstairs bathroom, where a washer-dyer and cupboards reside.
3. Timbercraft Tiny Homes, Denali XL
Next, we have the Denali XL from Timbercraft Tiny Homes. You can find a full article we wrote on this amazing tiny house, with many more pictures and a video tour, here.
Here, the staircase occupies a different position than in many other tiny houses – it’s at the end of a long hallway. It’s not part of another room in the house.
The staircase proves to be very useful for storage by having short and long sliding drawers in each step. Since there’s no space on either side of the staircase, the drawers open and close on the front of the steps.
Some disadvantages may be the ease of access to the lower drawers, as they are very close to the ground. You also have to sit or stand on the bottom steps to access the drawers in the higher steps.
The tiny house stair storage space here is ideal for storing clothing and household items.
4. Mint Tiny House Company, Nappa
This house from the Mint Tiny House Company is part of their Nappa edition. It’s another variant of the tiny house that we showed in the first staircase example above.
The stairs in this model are still close to the kitchen, but not directly parallel to it. They greet you as you enter the house and you can access them before you enter the tiny kitchen. Again, there’s one handrail attached to the wall, instead of two like we see in other tiny houses.
Immediately you will notice that there is an appliance built into the staircase on the ground floor level. It seems to be part of the kitchen, and using the staircase in this way is a great way to extend the space and add tons more functionality.
Pairing an overhead cupboard with the appliance is a great way to make your life easier when doing chores!
5. Modern Tiny Living, Mohican
This next one contains a feature that’s common in a lot of tiny houses. It’s the classic ladder.
Ladders are more commonly used in tiny houses that are on the smaller side. This is because full staircases with large storage underneath take up a lot of valuable floor space.
The ladder in this tiny home is in a fixed position over work surfaces in the kitchen. This means that it is not taking up any floor space whatsoever, and the work surfaces below can still be used for dining and food preparation.
Since the ladder doesn’t cover any floor space, it doesn’t need to be detached and taken down, which is a great advantage when comparing it to a moveable ladder.
There are no tiny house stair storage facilities in the ladder itself, but this is because the space below it can be used as normal.
6. Build Tiny, Dark Horse
The Dark Horse is quite an anomaly when it comes to tiny houses staircases.
That’s because it doesn’t have one! Not even a ladder.
If accessibility in tiny houses is an issue for you, the Dark Horse is an example of one that works perfectly with no upstairs loft space. The large bedroom is situated to the right of the house (downstairs of course).
The living and kitchen area and bathroom also contain enough storage to store every household item, so no loft space is required. A sofa bed in the living area would mean that the house could sleep two to four people.
If you enjoy tall ceilings and a tiny house bedroom that you can stand up in, then this is the house for you!
7. Summit Tiny Homes, The Westcoast
Here’s another example of a ladder being used to get from one floor to another in this wonderful tiny house by Summit Tiny Homes. However, this time it’s moveable and can be slid along to clear the walkway between the bathroom and kitchen.
Of course, there’s no storage space available here, but the ladder can be tucked away and takes up virtually no floor space.
Pros:
- Valuable floor space is saved as stairs are not required
- Wheels away out of view
Cons:
- The process of erecting the ladder can become a burden for some people
- Ladders are not as easy to climb as conventional stairs
Many tiny houses use ladders to access high storage spaces, so it’s something to get used to if you want to maximise the overhead space in your home.
8. Modern Tiny Living, Currituck
The Currituck model from Modern Tiny Living features some great storage spaces.
A notable difference here is that the stairs are more compact than the other examples in this article. They are taller and not as wide as the others, meaning the staircase itself takes up less floor space. This also means that underneath each step, there is taller storage space.
As you can see, the space under the stairs is comprised of long cabinets, holes and one sliding drawer. The tallest cupboard on the left-hand side is used as a wardrobe where you can hang shirts, jumpers and coats. Some further tiny house stair storage boxes could be added to the bottom of this cupboard, making this a great place to keep your shoes as well.
The holes here are perfect for easy access and can even be used to hold decorations!
The staircase in this tiny house also features one handrail, on the opposite side of the wall. This is a welcome feature as the stairs appear to be taller and thinner in general than in other tiny houses.
9. Build Tiny, The Bister
The Bister tiny house from Build Tiny gets a spot on our list due to the ingenious fold-out table that is stored in the staircase.
The staircase itself contains multiple storage functions, including space for a washer-dryer underneath the main part.
However, the fact that a tiny amount of space is also used to hold the dining table is a fantastic feature.
Once the table top is taken out of the tiny house stair storage, it can be assembled quickly to provide a breakfast or dining table that is attached to the sofa.
When you’ve finished eating or working, disassemble it and place it right back under the stairs, no fuss!
10. Mint Tiny House Company, Loft
In this example, we’re looking at another model from Mint Tiny House Company: The Loft. Here you will see a beautiful kitchen diner, with storage space at the end.
The overhead storage space is accessible via a ladder on a sliding door. This can be manoeuvred to allow access to the ground floor space and provide a way of reaching the overhead platform. The platform is a great storage area and can also be used for sleeping accommodation since it has protective railings.
The staircase here is a ladder, however, it is not a conventional ladder since there are only rungs are attached to a moveable door. This means absolutely no space is wasted on a conventional staircase or ladder to access the platform.
11. Minimaliste Houses, The Charme
The Charme by Minimaliste Houses is another unique entry on our list.
It’s the only double staircase that leads in two directions. One way leads to the bedroom loft area above the bathroom. The other leads to additional loft space parallel to the living area.
Since a lot of floor space is taken up by the dual staircase, this is where most of the storage space in the house is found. Large and small drawers and cupboards are part of each staircase and provide the facility to store a wide variety of objects.
An advantage of this is that all of your household items can be kept all in this one place, under the stairs. There’s no need to go to each end of your tiny house to find different items.
The staircase also features a thin, fold out table for you to use. Perfect for breakfast dining.
12. Mint Tiny House Company, Nappa
In this example, we’re revisiting the Nappa edition from Mint Tiny House Company.
Just like example number seven, the staircase shown in the picture doesn’t lead to the second floor. In the centre of the picture, you will again see an overhead storage space and ladder rungs. However, this ladder is attached to the wall and cannot be moved around the tiny house.
Pros:
- No tiny house stair storage space is taken up by a conventional staircase or ladder
- Doesn’t have to always be moved around like conventional ladders
- Rungs can be used to hang clothes and other items
Cons:
- A potential eyesore for some people if they don’t want to see ladder rungs on the wall
- Climbing vertical ladders may be trickier for some people compared to conventional ladders which are tilted and have sides to grip
13. Build Tiny, Daisy Vera
Our last entry on this list from Build Tiny is their Daisy Vera tiny house.
Here, the light and bright staircase features a slide-out pantry. This is a popular design in many homes and is great to store spices, tins, cereals, snacks and more.
The ease of access is great as it in the kitchen area. Furthermore, it provides lots of space to easily find specific the foods you need – no more peering to the back of high up kitchen cupboards to find that last tin!
14. Summit Tiny Homes, The Heritage
In this penultimate tiny house, you’ll find one of the most practical staircases. This is from Summit Tiny Homes’ “The Heritage”.
The stairs here are parallel to the kitchen area and lead to the bedroom. These are in a similar position and are of similar size to a few of the other tiny house examples we’ve looked at in this article. However, this is the first one to have multiple appliances underneath the stairs.
As you can see, there is a washing machine and fridge-freezer unit directly underneath the staircase. Since it’s positioned opposite the kitchen and close to the bathroom, these appliances make a lot of sense here. It feels like the intentions were that the stairs would be on top of the appliances, rather than appliances under the stairs.
If you’d find this more useful than just storage spaces like cupboards, drawers and holes underneath the stairs, then something like this is worth considering.
15. Tiny House of Zen
We’ve included a link to a video from Tiny House Listing’s YouTube channel where the Tiny House of Zen is featured.
There’s a timestamp in the video that will take you straight to the section about staircase storage. There’s a beautiful table that rolls out of the wall underneath the stairs, as well as storage for two stools.
If you have or are planning on living in a tiny house that is smaller than most and has no separate dining area, having a table stored away like this can be a great idea. Other ways to get around this would be to have a fold-up table attached to the wall, but we simply love the tiny house stair storage in this tiny house.
Thank you for reading this article, we hope you have some ideas of what staircases and storage you want in your dream Tiny House.
See below for some further articles you may enjoy reading.